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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29867343">it comes and goes in waves</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/komkommertijd/pseuds/komkommertijd'>komkommertijd</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Formula 1 RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>4k of bullshit about Daniel and Pierre flirting and neither of them being able to surf, Alternate Universe, Dating, Hawaii, M/M, Mentions of Snowboarding, Open Relationships, Shenanigans, Summer Vacation, Surfing, comedic relief in some way shape or form</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 01:28:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,831</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29867343</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/komkommertijd/pseuds/komkommertijd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Do you surf?” he asks Daniel after a while, and he wonders why Charles hasn't returned yet.</p><p>“Me?” he pauses, biting his lip, but then he smiles again and Pierre releases a breath he didn't know he was holding. “Sure. I live in Hawaii, after all.”</p><p>Or</p><p>Daniel says he's a surfer to flex but then Pierre asks him to teach him and neither of them can actually surf.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton/Nico Rosberg, Pierre Gasly/Daniel Ricciardo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>it comes and goes in waves</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>We shit talked about using "Aloha" in a fic on Discord, and I spiraled so hard that we ended up here. Thank you to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/bonotje/">bonotje</a> for giving me the main impulse that kicked this all of, and to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/emotionalsupportfastcars/">emotionalsupportfastcars</a> for fuelling this dumpster fire with more ideas.</p><p>I honestly don't know what else to say, other than the fair warning that I've actually never surfed myself - all of this is based on my windsurfing experiences (I even have a license, okay?) so I hope it makes at least some kind of sense. English is still not my first language and I'm dead tired, please ignore any mistakes &lt;3</p><p>Have fun!</p><p>(Title from Waves by Dean Lewis)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hawaii is a lot of things, but the main one is hot. It has been Charles's glorious idea to go there during summer when the air is humid and the sun has no mercy on them, and Pierre hasn't gone on vacation in three years, so he agreed without thinking. It's coming back around to bite him in the ass now, and every other spot of his skin that he hasn't covered properly in sunscreen.</p><p>When he ignores that small inconvenience, however, Hawaii is one the greatest places he's ever gotten to visit. The people are way friendlier than the mean Parisiens, and the entire vibe, as Charles likes to call it, never fails to lift his spirits. Everything looks so different from what he's used to, vibrant colors and full of life. There's less stress, no responsibilities, and he doesn't really mind that Charles continuously makes him drink everything from a coconut.</p><p>He really enjoys going to the beach in the afternoon, when they're done exploring the area for the day. Sometimes, they stay until the sun sets, mingling with the locals who come around to relax after work. Pierre particularly enjoys watching the surfers, which earns him a row of stupid jokes by Charles.</p><p>It's their fourth day on vacation when he meets Daniel.</p><p>Once again, it is late in the afternoon, and they're standing at the edge of the water to cool down, their feet hurting after walking around all day long. It's an amazing feeling and if Pierre didn't know any better, he might think that Charles is moaning with satisfaction now that he finally gets to rest and unwind for a while.</p><p>He's watching the surfers again, gliding along the waves a bit further off the coast, and they make it look so easy that Pierre feels the strange and sudden urge to join them. He has never surfed before in his life but feels like he could just paddle out there, feel the saltwater on his skin, and become one with the waves.</p><p>Charles makes another dumb comment and laughs when a guy falls off his board, losing balance when he miscalculates a wave. Maybe that's more of what Pierre would look like out there. He could learn though, get up and try again. It would be a nice way to spend his vacation doing something interesting, trying out something new that goes beyond drinking vodka from a coconut and getting sunburnt.</p><p>“He took that one too late and with too little speed, that was predictable,” someone casually speaks up next to him, which makes Pierre jump in surprise at first. He frowns but nods to appear a little less rude than he feels, but the guy doesn't leave.</p><p>When Pierre turns to look at him, he's met with what he would call a typical surfer boy. He's dressed in a tacky Hawaii shirt with the top buttons left open, combined with a pair of surf shorts and sunglasses that hide his eyes. He's smiling and extends his hand to Pierre when he catches him staring.</p><p>“I'm Pierre, by the way,” he introduces himself and doesn't know why, but they're already shaking hands, so it can't be that wrong. He feels Charles's judging eyes on them but keeps shaking the guy's hand.</p><p>“Aloha Pierre,” the stranger replies, with a smile that might be more blinding than the sun. “I'm Daniel.”</p><p>They both fall silent after that, still shaking each other's hands, and it grows more awkward by the second until Charles tells him that he's getting another drink. Daniel lets go of his hand again, and they both try to wipe off the sweat without letting the other see. Another surfer falls into the water, and Daniel says something about bad technique and a bad posture. Pierre nods along, not sure about what he could add to this conversation. The waves keep building up and breaking back down, cool water hitting his ankles, feet digging into the sand.</p><p>“So Pierre, where are you from?”</p><p>“I'm from France,” he answers truthfully, and Daniel tilts his head and lifts an eyebrow, probably to show interest in what Pierre is saying.</p><p>“You're on vacation I assume?”</p><p>“Yeah. My friend Charles dragged me here but now I'm glad I joined him.” It doesn't come out quite the way he wanted to. In any case, it's not his intention to flirt with a random guy he's met at the beach on vacation endless miles away from home. Daniel doesn't seem to care, simply nodding along with a smile still plastered on his face.</p><p>“I don't know a single person who ever regretted coming here, to be honest.” There's a slight chuckle in his voice, and Pierre feels relief washing over him with the next wave of saltwater.</p><p>“It's funny. I did originally come here on vacation as well, but I've just never left. Life works in mysterious ways sometimes.”</p><p>Pierre hums and takes another sip of his drink while they silently watch the surfers. There's a girl in a wetsuit doing tricks, jumping over the waves, diving underneath, and failing here and there without making it look quite as sad as the other surfers around her. Pierre watches her with yet another frown on his face, in concentration and deep thought rather than distaste.</p><p>“Do you surf?” he asks Daniel after a while, and he wonders why Charles hasn't returned yet.</p><p>“Me?” he pauses, biting his lip, but then he smiles again and Pierre releases a breath he didn't know he was holding. “Sure. I live in Hawaii, after all.”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“Maxy, I made a huge mistake today,” Daniel announces when he locks their front door behind him, toeing off his shoes and leaving them to stand in the middle of the hallway. Max hates it when he does that, so he tries to put them into a position where they will certainly be noticeable, yellow checkered Vans against the hardwood floor.</p><p>“Don't you do that every day anyway?”</p><p>“Today's worse.”</p><p>Max is standing in the kitchen, stirring rice and vegetables in a pan for dinner, and he grins gleefully when Daniel comes padding into the room. He even pats Daniel's cheek as to comfort him, still smiling against his lips in amusement.</p><p>“I met this guy at the beach, Pierre,” Daniel explains over dinner, waving his chopsticks in the air like he always does when he talks for longer than three seconds, “and I accidentally promised him to teach him how to surf.”</p><p>“Daniel, you don't know how to surf,” Max points out as if Daniel needs help figuring that out. He simply nods and shovels more rice and broccoli into his mouth. Max raises an eyebrow but doesn't say anything else yet, reaching for his water glass to take a sip.</p><p>“I'll figure it out, no need to panic,” and he's well aware that he's the only one panicking right now, “I just have to learn how to surf before I teach Pierre. Should be easy enough, right?”</p><p>They both know it's a rather stupid plan but Max is a good boyfriend for the majority of the time, so he simply nods along and encourages Daniel to pull through with his idiocy. He even asks him to describe Pierre to him, listening closely as his boyfriend fills him in on the details.</p><p>Daniel is pretty lucky to have a boyfriend as open-minded as Max, who doesn't only tolerate his reoccurring crushes but acts like a best friend who listens to him ramble on about the nice guy at work or that really funny girl he's met at the gym. He suspects that normal couples usually don't discuss their attraction to other people, minus to celebrities maybe, but their relationship has never really been what the general public labels as normal, anyway.</p><p>So while Max eats their homemade mango sorbet after dinner, on their stupidly tiny front porch with his legs draped over Daniel's lap, his boyfriend tells him about Pierre's friend whom he's only met for a minute, and about their equally entertaining French accents. Max tells him that he apparently has a European fetish, and Daniel only laughs, and the kisses they share taste like sugar and mango, sticky but intoxicating.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“I need your help.”</p><p>Lewis raises an eyebrow but doesn't say anything about Daniel's horrible attempt at puppy eyes, and simply turns around to walk back inside, trusting Daniel to follow him. He places his shoes by the door, neater than at home because Lewis really doesn't mess around when it comes to shoes in the hallway, and walks into the living room where Lewis is already waiting for him on the couch.</p><p>He smiles hesitantly and sits down on the armchair, close enough for a conversation but far enough away to keep a safe distance. Nico doesn't really like Daniel coming over, not after the complicated things that have happened in the past.</p><p>Sure, Daniel used to date Lewis before he met Nico, but it was ages ago and they mutually agreed to end things. It's not their fault that they ran into each other at the grocery store a year ago when Lewis spent the summer in Hawaii during his break. He's already been married to Nico then, and he still is, so Daniel doesn't quite get what the fuss is about, but Nico scares him, so he doesn't ask and usually respects his request to keep his distance.</p><p>Lewis isn't there all year long anyway, splitting his time between competitions all around the globe, in Japan, Canada, Austria. The list is long, and Daniel doesn't quite remember it all, just how much he used to complain about the cold. Lewis called him a wimp for deeming everything below 20 degrees as freezing cold.</p><p>“I might have met a cute boy at the beach and promised him to teach him how to surf. The issue is, I have no clue how to surf,” he explains. Lewis tries to hide a smile but Daniel knows him well enough to see the amusement in his eyes.</p><p>“What did Max say about that?”</p><p>“That I should ask you for help. I wouldn't have come here to embarrass myself otherwise and we both know that.”</p><p>“So? I've taken you snowboarding often enough, it's essentially the same thing.”</p><p>“Except your feet aren't strapped in, the board has a completely different shape, and the ground is moving. Sure, easy thing, mate. What would I have done without your advice?”</p><p>“I could ask Nico to teach you.”</p><p>Daniel wrinkles his nose. How a professional snowboarder could end up married to a surfer, he would never understand. Lewis is probably right to suggest that, Daniel thinks, seeing as Nico quite literally gets paid for teaching people how to surf. It pays well, judging by the expensive armchair Daniel is currently sitting on.</p><p>“I don't have much of a choice now, do I?”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>It's wobbly, that's the first thing Daniel notices when they leave the safe beach and the dry run behind for the first time. He only has to paddle for a bit and then try to get up for his first exercise, but the board reacts to every little wave, every move of his body, and Daniel is mildly terrified. He's sweating, not because of the heat, it's rather cold out on the water, but because there are so many things to pay attention to. Nico is sitting on his own board a bit closer to the beach with his feet in the sand as he watches Daniel struggle. He's sure that his teacher is thoroughly enjoying his pain.</p><p>When he finally does try to get up, it takes way too long to move from a kneeling position into a standing one. Every little move of his limbs makes the board shift from left to right, up and down, and he doesn't feel safe at all. He knows he could probably stand in that area without a problem if he falls but he doesn't want to risk it.</p><p>Daniel slowly pushes himself up, with both legs placed roughly in the middle of the board to hold the balance. He tentatively takes a step forward with his left leg and holds out his arms so he won't fall. It takes a lot of concentration and even more time but Nico seems pleased. He paddles closer, shoves Daniel off the board and into the cold water, and tells him to try again.</p><p>It takes a few more tries before Nico finally nods, and he even says something nice for once. Usually, he doesn't direct words of praise or of any good kind at Daniel, so it catches him off guard. He doesn't get the chance to comment on it to ruin the moment though, because Nico tells him to get back up and try to ride a wave. Nothing fancy or sketchy, he just has to paddle out further, get up right before a wave hits him, and stay on top of his board until the water has brought him closer to the shore again.</p><p>That's how it's supposed to go, anyway. Of course, it takes more tries than one to even get on the wave at first, since Daniel tends to get up too fast for his own good or too late, which normally results in the next upcoming wave pushing him off the board. Even Nico stops laughing about that after a while, and Daniel does get on top of some waves with a bit of practice.</p><p>Lunch break is spent in the shade of a tree, both of them silently eating the pasta Max has dropped off for them. It's still slightly awkward considering that Nico doesn't particularly like Daniel and they're both aware of it, but it seems to lessen now that they are establishing common ground. Maybe Daniel's long-term boyfriend, whom he moved to the other end of the world for, dropping off their lunch helped with Nico's change of mind, too. Daniel shares his lemonade with his surfing teacher and receives a smile that makes him wonder whether he's hallucinating.</p><p>They go back out after another hour of lazing in the shade and giving their muscles time to relax in Daniel's case. It gets easier over time, getting used to the for and back of the waves. Daniel isn't sentimental or crazy enough to say that he becomes one with the waves or feels them or anything but he gets the hang of it more and more and finds a rhythm that keeps him above the water, literally.</p><p>“It looks way less shit than I anticipated, wow,” is the first thing Max says when Daniel and Nico are close enough to hear him. Daniel simply rolls his eyes and tries not to drop his surfboard that he has to carry back to the surf school, trying to ignore his boyfriend for the sake of the slippery board in his hands.</p><p>Max gets the hint and follows them, keeping his comments to himself for the time being, and Nico is surprisingly chill around him for the first time ever, probably. It might be the water that helped with Nico's mood, Daniel doesn't want to find out in case that it would put an end to that current state.</p><p>“I meant it, by the way. You're doing well, it looks good.”</p><p>“You just came to watch to see me in that ugly wetsuit,” Daniel says matter of factly while raising the board above his head to put it onto the wooden construction, back into the spot where he took it from earlier. When he turns back around, Max is leaning against the counter of the surf school, far enough away from where a girl is talking to customers to be left alone by Nico, and he's smiling softly.</p><p>“That's just a bonus,” he replies with a chuckle, pushing himself off the counter to walk over to Daniel, and handing him a towel from his backpack. Daniel peels the cold wet fabric off his skin, which involuntarily makes him shiver when the temperature changes.</p><p>He sporadically dries off his chest and leaves the towel around his neck when he sits down to pull the annoying suit off his legs. Nico has been right, putting it on is a pain but taking it back off is a hundred times worse. Max doesn't pay his struggling boyfriend any mind, typing away on his phone while Daniel fights with the wet fabric, he even hands him his shirt without looking up.</p><p>“Say hi to Twitter from me,” Daniel tells him when he's done cleaning the wetsuit, thanking Nico one more time, and folding the towel he used up enough to shove it into Max's backpack. Max sighs and turns off his phone, sliding it into the back pocket of his shorts before looking up at Daniel, who looks exhausted but happy.</p><p>“Congratulations for not sucking, that's an achievement.” He smiles and wraps his arms around Daniel's neck, pecking his lips quickly. Max scrunches his nose in disgust when he tastes saltwater, which makes Daniel laugh, so hard that his shoulders start shaking and the water droplets from his wet hair soak through Max's t-shirt.</p><p>“Let's go home, I'm too exhausted to stand up any longer.”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>He's not nervous, not at all, but Charles has been irritating him all morning already. During breakfast, he's kept looking at Pierre with that weird smile on his face as if he knows something that Pierre doesn't. Whenever Pierre tries to bring it up and ask about it, however, Charles tells him that it's nothing and resumes munching on his bacon, looking innocent. Pierre has known him for way too long to not see past that, and he annoys him that Charles doesn't seem to realize that.</p><p>“Okay, what's your issue? And stop saying that it's nothing.”</p><p>“It really is nothing. I just find it funny that you mope for years on end because you're lonely and then you decide to change that now of all times.”</p><p>Pierre stops walking when he hears Charles say that, and the lingering amusement in his voice doesn't quite sit well with him. Maybe he is nervous, after all.</p><p>“I'm not- that's- Charles, no.”</p><p>“Charles, yes. Don't tell me you would've randomly asked a surfer to teach you how to surf instead of simply getting an actual teacher if that didn't happen. I mean, I'm happy for you and all that but that was a rather obvious move, even for you.”</p><p>He frowns, confused about what Charles is implying but decides that he can still argue with his best friend while they walk so they won't end up running late just because Charles is behaving like an idiot, so Pierre shakes his head and continues walking.</p><p>“Look, Daniel seemed like a nice guy and we got along well, that's all. This is only about surfing, I don't even know whether he's single, or into men in the first place, or whether he's interested in me, or-”</p><p>“You do realize that you're only making this harder for yourself, right?”</p><p>“What is that supposed to mean now?”</p><p>Charles shrugs and hides his hands in the pockets of his horribly tasteless shorts. In all the years of their friendship, Charles's terrible choice of clothing has been a thing Pierre has never been able to look past. Sometimes that makes things a lot easier for him though, especially when it comes to getting taken seriously.</p><p>“Do you think he would've agreed to teach you if he wasn't interested in you?”</p><p>“You don't know that, maybe he's just a really nice guy.”</p><p>“Yeah, because that's all nice guys ever want,” Charles replies with sarcasm heavy in his voice, letting out a snort of amusement. Pierre sighs and hopes that Charles will keep down his criticism when they arrive at the beach. He doesn't want his friend to embarrass both of them in front of Daniel, not that it's about Daniel, in particular, he just hates it when Charles ruins someone's impression of him. He enjoys doing that a little too much, concerningly enough.</p><p>Daniel is already waiting for them when they get to their designated meeting point, dressed in a white shirt to keep the sun away, and a pair of dark surf shorts, with two surfboards in the sand next to him and a lazy smile on his face. Pierre swallows around the lump in his throat and falls behind Charles, not slowing down his steps on purpose, of course, the natural resistance of the sand is simply tiring him out.</p><p>“Aloha kids,” he greets them cheerfully when they're close enough to him, similar to how he's greeted Pierre when they've first met. He should probably find that behavior embarrassing or childish but instead, Pierre smiles and waves at Daniel to return the greeting. Charles snorts next to him and actually opens his mouth to say hi to Pierre's surf instructor.</p><p>It's incredibly hard to focus on his actual task when he's aware of Daniel watching his every move. His cheeks feel way too hot for the cool weather that hangs above the sea as opposed to the land, and the unpredictability of the waves makes standing up for more than a few seconds at a time difficult for him. Pierre isn't going to give up yet though, not this easily, not when Daniel made time just for him.</p><p>“Try to relax more,” Daniel advises when he's paddled over to where Pierre is struggling on his own board. “I know it's scary and you're not used to that wobbly movement yet but relaxing will make it a lot easier to keep your balance. If you loosen up, you can move along better.”</p><p>Pierre nods and tries again, and again, and a third time with little progress. Daniel sits on his surfboard with his legs dangling in the cool water, leaning his upper body back on his arms, water droplets shining on his skin. It's too distracting but Pierre won't give up, so he consciously looks away and tries to focus on his body instead, while the waves keep rocking him around.</p><p>He paddles closer to the next upcoming wave and gets up as fast as he dares without fearing to lose his balance, using the momentum to slide over the surface of the water and gain speed, and when he gets on top of the wave and feels it carry him closer to the shore, fast and smooth, he finally feels himself relax. Daniel cheers in the distance, arms thrown into the air, smiling brightly like the sun reflecting in the water.</p><p>He drops himself into the water, feels the cold embrace him and sway him around, and his chest warms when Daniel runs a hand through his own wet hair before catching Pierre's eyes and giving him a thumbs up.</p><p>It's his seventh day on vacation, and he feels like he never wants it to end.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading this disaster until the end, that means a lot to me!</p><p>Kudos, comments, and support of any kind is always greatly appreciated and makes all of this possible in the first place &lt;3</p><p>I'll hopefully see you soon with more shenanigans- until then, have a good one and stay safe and healthy!</p><p>(If you want to keep up to date, you can find me on <a href="https://komkommertijd.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> (@komkommertijd),I promise I don't bite x)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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